Great guy

Yesterday morning, just before leaving home for work, I was speaking to my sister, and I referred to my cousin and said “… oh he can handle any situation … he’s a great guy”.

As I walked to the gate, I thought about this cousin, and I was filled with gladness and admiration. I then remembered how envious and jealous I used to be – and what a good cure for that spontaneous joy is.

The bodhisattva in Buddhist tradition is a “being of light”, one whose life is devoted to compassionate service of humanity and all living beings, bringing every being to light through life after life before seeking his own liberation from the endless cycle of life.

The bearing of a bodhisattva: maitri, mudita, karuna, upeksha. Which means: (selfless) love, spontaneous joy (at/for others), compassion and equanimity.

All these are positive states and feelings, in whose light other states and feelings – such as envy and jealousy – are wiped out.

It’s a simple flip – to go from jealousy, anger, hatred and ill-will to spontaneous joy, appreciation, delight, admiration, warmth, love, devotion. And from such small acts of will against negative feelings, and what the new feelings do within us – we are powerfully transformed, with positive capabilities.

When people encounter the positive, joyful feelings of others – they too are touched, moved, humbled, and their finest qualities are awakened.

We carry such a detritus of needless negativism within ourselves, to our own detriment and ill-health. Positive health, and peace on earth – has ultimately to be built individual by individual, feeling by feeling.


Searching for an image to accompany my post, I came upon this amazing website, of Dwayne Edward Rourke, which I invite you to visit. The image is taken from there.